Tom Wark, of Fermentation, has a good post about this article from Jennifer Rosen.

In the article Ms. Rosen takes on the E.U. and the idea of Terroir. Dismissing the idea that location is just as important as the varietal used:

While our trademarks protect intellectual property, Europe safeguards terroir, the concept that place matters more than ingredients, process or producer. This is at once attractive to high-interest wine buyers and impenetrable to the rest. While collectors of Grands Crus no doubt know their left bank from their right, the average drinker is confounded just keeping up with the main eight or nine grapes.

What's more, Americans, for the most part, don't particularly care where their food and wine comes from. The Office of Champagne has been running a series of magazine ads that begin with a statement like: "Gulf Shrimp from Nebraska?" or "Monterey Jack from Alaska?" then segue to the horrific proposition: "Champagne not from Champagne!?"

I disagree with her assessment. There is a difference between a Riesling from Germany and one from Australia, a Merlot from France and one from California, even to novice wine drinkers. Knowing where a wine came from can be important.

Ms. Rosen continues directly:

Pardonnez-moi, but I suspect that far from resonating with most Americans, this backfires. To "Valencia Oranges from Maine?" we say, "Cool! Must be some new hydroponic thing."

Even the most ardent single-farmer chervil connoisseur probably doesn't notice whence his shrimp were farmed or his milk squeezed. As for Monterey Jack, I doubt it's occurred to one in a million taco eaters that Monterey refers to a place, let alone where it is, and that it matters.

Really? If that were true, then why would Napa Valley Vintners be in the Supreme Court:

In a press release, NVV executive director Linda Reiff said, "Our goal has remained the same since this fight began more than five years ago: If a wine label says 'Napa,' then the wine in the bottle should be from 'Napa.' "

Napa is an important region, with a reputation for producing some of the best wines in the world. Why should wineries outside of the region be able to piggyback on the hard work of these winemakers?

I think Tom's summation is spot on:

In the end, I'm inclined to believe that place names are important. Despite what I've written in the past about the idea of terroir, I am in fact a "terroirista" and believe that the place and the name and the product ought to match.